Around the World

Local News from All Over

AFRICA

Global warming and malariaThe
number of South Africans at risk for malaria will quadruple by the year
2020 as global warming brings infected mosquitoes south. Mosquitoes
carrying the malaria parasite, now restricted to the tropical north,
could spread southward toward Pretoria, Cape Town, and Johannesburg.
Malaria kills more than a million people a year worldwide, with
children at particular risk. Martinus van Schalkwyk, South Africas
Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, said that South Africa
would continue to press internationally for reductions in greenhouse
gases as well as aiming to reduce its own energy demand 12 percent by
2015.Reuters, 6/5

Green powerHoping
to reduce the environmental damage caused by coal-fired power plants
currently in use, the South African government is encouraging
production from renewable sources to meet the surging demand for power.
The first company trading renewable electricity over the national grid,
a sugar mill using dried sugar cane waste in its generator, was
launched in June. South Africas target is to produce more than 10,000
gigawatt hours of sustainable electricity by 2013. An energy official
said the government may require companies to use energy from renewable
sources in the future, but it is not being considered now. Reuters, 4/20

ARCTIC

Photo: photos.com

Greenlands big four threatenedA report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has called on Greenland to do more to protect polar bears,
walruses, narwhal, and beluga whales, referred to collectively as the
countrys big four species. Narwhals and belugas are threatened
because Greenlands recent catch quotas were far higher than scientists
recommended. WWF said that polar bears and walrus are being hunted in
an almost unregulated way. The group said that melting sea ice might
be forcing polar bears to the coasts, where people tend to hunt. The
number of polar bears killed rose from 159 in 2000 to 278 in 2003.Reuters, 4/29

ASIA

Photo: photos.com

Indian tigers close to extinctionIndias
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has set up a task force to try to
save the nations declining stock of tigers. The tigers are believed to
be on the verge of extinction in India due to poaching for their body
parts. Trade in dead tigers is illegal, but a single tiger can fetch up
to $50,000 on the international black market. Organs and body parts are
popular in Chinese medicine.The task force was set up after reports
that tigers may have been eliminated entirely from the Sariska
sanctuary, where the Project Tiger conservation program originated in 1973. Just one year ago there were
an estimated 1618 tigers in the sanctuary. Tiger populations in India
are believed to have dropped to between 2,000 and 3,700 from about
40,000 a century ago.Reuters, 5/2

Another fake island for Persian GulfFollowing
in the footsteps of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, Bahrain
has decided that it wants to build yet another artificial island to
hold multi-billion dollar real estate. Bahrain, an island itself, says
its ready to spend $3 billion to develop artificial islands off its
northeast coast. Like the projects in Dubai (UAE) and Qatar, the
islands would host mansions, hotels, shops, clubs, and promenades. A
local marine environmentalist said such large-scale reclamation
projects could cause massive disturbances to the undersea environment
and harm marine life that thrives there, including mackerel, grouper,
shrimp, pearl oysters, dolphins, and sea horses. About a third of the
countrys coral reefs have already been destroyed over the past two
decades by reclamation and waterfront development. Ironically, the
islands are to be built in the shape of one of the animals they may be
annihilating  the sea horse. Dredging for reclamation is expected to
start this year after the Bahraini government  which studied the plans
for construction and the environmental impact  recently gave the
go-ahead to build.Associated Press, 5/11

AUSTRALIA

Australian for save the whalesIan
Campbell, Environment and Heritage Minister of Australia, is pressuring
Japan to stop killing whales in the name of science. Japan has been
killing whales under the guise of scientific research as allowed by an
article in the International Whaling Commission (IWC) convention. The Ministers move was prompted by Japans plan to
increase its annual take of minke whales from 440 to 850, and to
increase by 50 each its kill of humpback and fin whales. The whales
swim along the Australian coasts on their annual migration and are
often killed in Antarctic waters declared an Australian Whale
Sanctuary. Campbell was lobbying New Zealand, Great Britain, and the US
to help remove the offending article allowing the whale kill at the
June meeting of the IWC. The four nations drew up a petition to present
at the meeting, but the removal may prove difficult, as Japan is
reported to use financial assistance to persuade developing nations to
back whaling at the IWC. The Humane Society International based in Australia wants the government to move beyond diplomacy and
sue Japan in the International Court of Justice. While the Japanese
government recognizes that whale meat is sold in the market, it
maintains that practice is not in violation of the IWC. They are
allowed to sell the by-product to recoup research costs. Japanese
officials have also complained that whales eat too many fish.Daily Telegraph (Australia) 5/18; ENS, 5/18

Culled oyster bluesOfficials
in Australia say the countrys Sydney rock oysters are dying off at an
alarming rate due to a hitherto-unknown disease, referred to as the QX
parasite. The disease threatens to destroy a $23.1-million-a-year
industry.The QX parasite is known to be fast-spreading, with a
mortality rate close to 100 percent. Experts say the parasite kills an
oyster by attacking its gut, causing the oyster to starve.

Last year
the parasite was found in roughly 30 percent of oysters at Hawkesbury,
just north of Sydney. Today, virtually all the oysters in the region
are affected. Scientists are still unsure of the origins of the disease
or how to stop it. New South Wales Fisheries, the state agency
responsible for the industry, believes the disease is caused by the
parasite Marteilia sydneyi.Reuters, 5/9

EUROPE

Euros sunset dirty beachesA
European Union assembly has set a 2011 deadline for its members to
clean up their polluted beaches. This new date moves up the previous
deadline from 2015, due to increased risks to beachgoers health.
Officials for the EU say one in eight swimmers falls ill after a visit
to the seaside. Common complaints include stomach flus and respiratory
illnesses. EU lawmakers are also urging the implementation of emergency
planning for major pollution accidents, and for a system to advise
bathers of the level of water cleanliness. Some have suggested using
smiley-face signs at beaches to indicate when the water is safe for
bathers.Reuters, 5/11

Dadelions or Parkinsons disease? The choice may be yours to make. Photo: photos.com

Pesticides and ParkinsonsResearchers
at the University of Aberdeen report that British gardeners exposed to
more pesticides run a greater risk of developing Parkinsons disease.
Anthony Seaton, the principal investigator, recommends wearing
protective clothing for pesticide users, including both amateur
gardeners and farmers. The team studied people from five European
countries that were regular users of pesticides: 767 people with
Parkinsons and 1,989 healthy people. Those who handled pesticides
regularly were more likely to have Parkinsons. Amateur gardeners who
used pesticides infrequently had an increased risk of 9 percent;
farmers with a higher exposure were 43 percent more likely to contract
the disease. Having a family history of the disease increased the
chances of developing Parkinsons by 350 percent.

As this study
relied on participants memories, scientists could not identify a
particular pesticide as the culprit. Further studies that monitor a
participants exposure to individual pesticides as and when they are
used need to be performed.New Scientist, 5/26; Reuters, 5/26

From nukes to windSweden
ramped up its nuclear phase-out program with the closure of the
600-megawatt Barseback-2 reactor at the end of May. The first Barseback
reactor was closed in 1999. To compensate for the lost power, Sweden is
investing heavily in renewable energy sources. Vattenfall, the
state-owned energy company that operates Barseback, said it would
invest $1 billion to build what would become northern Europes biggest
wind farm. The company said it hopes to produce at least half of
Barsebacks output of four terawatt-hours of power by 2010 through the
use of 100150 newly constructed wind turbines. Vattenfall also plans
to invest $218 million to build an offshore wind power park in southern
Sweden.Reuters, 6/1

NORTH AMERICA

California may ban online huntingCalifornias
State Senate has passed a bill that would prohibit use of
computer-assisted hunting sites and ban the import or export of any
animal killed using computer-assisted hunting. The bill now goes to the
Assembly for approval. The bill was written after the Fish and Game
Commission ordered wildlife officials to prepare emergency regulations
to ban the practice in response to plans for a Texas Web site where
online users shoot live ammo at real game with computer-controlled
guns. At least 14 other states and Congress are considering similar
bills.MSNBC, 5/4

PemessAnother
oil spill has been reported in Tamaulipas, Mexico, the latest in a long
series of incidents from the nations aging pipeline network. The state
oil monopoly, Pemex, has promised to cut such accidents, calling safety
the companys number one priority, but has had difficulties coming up
with the estimated billions of dollars to repair 23,000 miles of aging
pipelines.

A recent ammonia leak in Veracruz killed six people.
Another incident, a combined oil and gas pipeline explosion in the
state of Tabasco, polluted 15 acres of land. Its almost getting to be
a daily thing, said a spokeswoman for environmental watchdog Profepa.
Under pressure to decrease the companys incidents, Pemex has appointed
a special working group to try and improve safety standards.Reuters, 5/6

Flushed with deathAccording to a study published in the Caribbean Journal of Science,
raw sewage discharged into the waters around the US Virgin Islands is
killing coral reefs at an alarming rate. Coral reefs exposed to the
bacteria and nutrients found in raw sewage are far more likely to
develop disease and die than reefs in unpolluted waters.

In the
St. Croix town of Frederiksted, where untreated sewage was regularly
released, nearly 30 percent of coral was infected with two main coral
diseases: black band and white plague, which can kill a foot of reef a
week. Just three miles north in Butler Bay, where no sewage was dumped,
only three to four percent of coral was infected.Associated Press, 5/27

CO2 achoo!An
agricultural researcher in Maryland found that increased levels of
carbon dioxide, the most significant greenhouse gas, may cause some
weeds to release more pollen. The Agricultural Research Service in
Maryland planted ragweed, a common allergen, in and around Baltimore.
They found the city locations, which had higher levels of carbon
dioxide, produced more robust and faster-growing ragweed. Doubling the
level of carbon dioxide meant 60 percent more pollen produced by other
common weeds. Other research has shown trees produce more cones,
another source of pollen, after exposure to high levels of carbon
dioxide. Unfortunately for allergy sufferers, a sensitivity to
allergens is closely related to asthma, which has been on the rise for
decades. Were already seeing this impact on weeds and trees. We are
now beginning to suspect its playing a role in the doubling and
tripling of asthma rates in the US since the 1980s, said Dr. Paul
Epstein, associate director of the Center for Global Health and the
Environment at Harvard University.Albany Times Union, 5/26

The old green mayorsThe
mayors of Zurich, Istanbul, Melbourne, Seattle, and many other cities
from across the globe convened in San Francisco in June to sign the UN Urban Environmental Accords. The signing came at the end of the UN World Environment Day conference. San Francisco was the first US city to host the conference,
which is in its third decade. The accords focused on seven general
categories affecting the worlds cities today: energy, waste reduction,
urban design, urban nature, transportation, environmental health, and
water. Twenty-one specific actions were listed to improve urban
environmental conditions. The actions include increasing the use of
renewable energy to meet 10 percent of a citys peak electric load
within seven years; expanding affordable public transportation for city
residents within a decade; creating accessible park or recreation space
within a half-mile of every city resident by 2015; and achieving zero
growth in the waste going to landfills or incinerators by 2040. Cities
now cover 2 percent of the worlds surface, but they accommodate 50
percent of the worlds population and consume 75 percent of its
resources, David Cadman, deputy mayor of Vancouver and North American
regional chairman for the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Ive talked to the other mayors here, and the challenges we face are
similar, said Ajith Mannapperuma, the mayor of Gampaha, Sri Lanka.
Focusing on the local rather than the global set this international
conference apart from the past accords, said the mayors.

Many
times these United Nations accords have been signed, but implementation
didnt work because there was no local connection, said Vlad Oprea,
mayor of Sinaia, Romania. I believe some of the conditions and
articles mentioned in the accords are very difficult, but they are very
important for my own town.SF Chronicle, 6/6

SOUTH AMERICA

Hoppy hourHealth
officials in Lima, Peru uncovered some 5,000 endangered Telmatbius
frogs during a routine inspection of commercial refrigerators. The
frogs were said to have been brought from lakes in the high Andes to
become ingredients in popular cocktails. Frog cocktails are
sought-after in the Andes due to their assumed aphrodisiac qualities.
Shops in central Lima selling the drinks often have tanks where
customers can choose their own frogs.Reuters, 4/29

Soya battleBrazils
small contingent of Green Party legislators resigned in May in protest
over the governments failure to stem the high rate of destruction in
the Amazon rainforest. Despite campaign promises by President Luiz
Inácio Lula da Silva in 2003 to protect the Amazon, last years rate of
deforestation was the second highest on record. In 2003 and 2004
deforestation claimed an area larger than the state of New Jersey.
While much of the past deforestation can be traced to legal and illegal
logging and clearance for cattle ranching, today soybean production for
cattle feed has greatly increased the demand for arable land. Soybeans
are Brazils principal export.

Blairo Maggi, known locally as
the King of Soy, is state governor of Mato Grosso, where his farming
business is located. In 2003, his first year as governor, the rate of
deforestation more than doubled in Mato Grosso. Last year his company
earned $600 million in sales.
He has called for a tripling in the planting of soybeans over the next
10 years in Mato Grosso. His company intends to double the land it has
in production. But sentiments have begun to swing the other way. On
June 6, new logging permits were suspended in Mato Grosso and federal
police made 90 arrests of government officials and businessmen
connected to loggers. Mr. Maggi fired his environmental chief, who was
arrested and accused of corruption according to the state government
Web site.Reuters, 5/20; London Independent, 5/20; Associated Press, 6/6

Galapagos sea cucumber ban liftedThe
Galapagos reserve management authority has lifted a ban on sea cucumber
fishing to allow the capture of three million animals in 60 days
starting June 12. The ban, in effect for 2005 and 2006, was lifted as
local fishermen threatened to strike. Their livelihood depends on sea
cucumbers and lobster fishing as a principal source of income.

The
spiny creatures are widely sought after in Asia for their putative
aphrodisiac effects. This species, threatened by a growing illegal
market, has environmentalists calling for protection from overfishing.
These sexy morsels of marine fauna are found in the Galapagos Islands,
625 miles off the west coast of Ecuador. It was a tour of these islands
that inspired Charles Darwin to propose his theory of evolution.Reuters, 1/1